The Holy Spirit and Church
Acts 1:8-1:8
The Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyers Journal printed the following questions actually asked of witnesses during trial lawyers:
• The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
• Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war?
• How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?
• You were there until the time you left, is that true?
Today We are going to try to answer some of the tough questions surrounding this important subject.
This teaching has been abused by an unbalanced focus on tongues that sets up a sort of spiritual elitism—the have’s and the have nots.
-This too can cause many of us to miss all that God has for us.
A correct understanding of the Bible’s teaching on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is like aiming the gun at the target,
Experiencing God’s fullness and power is like pulling the trigger—which only the Spirit can do.
I. In the Old Testament, there are two
primary functions of the Holy Spirit:
A. The first function of the Holy Spirit in the Old
Testament is…… Power
1. While the Spirit’s empowering work is evident in the OT, it was limited to select individuals and He “came upon” them for a relatively brief period of time for a specific purpose (prophesy, deliverance).
B. The Old Testament looks for to a new day when the
Messiah, Jesus, would bring about an age when all
of God’s people would receive this empowerment to
do God’s work.
In Joel expresses that hope
Joel 2:28-32, “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved”
1. In contrast to the Old era, when the Spirit’s work
was limited to select individuals..
2. The outpouring of the Spirit in this future age
will extend to all God’s people and will be
characterized by the Spirit’s empowering work.
The second function of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is Purification.
A. The Old Testament looks ahead to the Spirit’s
future inner-transforming or purifying work.
This is clearly seen in Ezekiel 36:25-27:
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Ezekiel is describing a new age where God would transform the hearts of His people by God’s own Spirit taking up residence in each individual.
II. What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit?
It depends on who you ask. You need to understand
that biblical writers sometimes use the same
words and phrases in different ways.
The same phrase used by different people in different circumstances can mean different things.
1. According to Paul
1 Corinthians 12:13, 13 For we were all baptized by
one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks,
slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit
to drink.”
Paul’s teachings on the Holy Spirit mostly emphasize the Spirit’s inner-transforming or purifying work.
Salvation – Purification
2. According to Luke
He emphasizes, almost exclusively, the Spirit’s
role in empowering the believer for service.
Luke 24:49 - I am going to send you what my Father
has promised; but stay in the city until you have
been clothed with power from on high.
Acts 1:4-8:
1On one occasion, while he [Jesus] was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” John clearly baptized people “in” water, to baptize is to dunk, immerse, submerge. This is the comparison that Jesus set up of being baptized “in” the Spirit.]
6 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Luke emphasizes the Spirit’s empowering role in the life of the believer.
3. The book of Acts uses several expressions
interchangeably to describe the baptism in the Holy
Spirit:
1. Baptized in the Spirit
2. Spirit coming, or falling, upon
3. Spirit poured out
4. Promise of the Father
6. Gift of the Spirit
7. Receiving the Spirit
8. Filled with the Spirit
The terminology is simply an attempt by Luke to help us understand better the meaning of the experience.
III. What can I expect when I am baptized in the Holy
Spirit?
The short answer would be the answer Jesus gives in Acts 1:8, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
We will receive God’s power to be His witness in our neighborhoods and the whole world.
Let me give you some of the abilities the Holy Spirit gives to the believer to witness
1. Boldness Under Pressure
Peter has just been thrown in prison with John for
using the name of Jesus to heal a man. The
religious leaders have thrown him in jail
overnight. The next day he gives this defense:
Acts 4:8-13
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
2. Revelation Knowledge
a. Peter and the disciples did not display any real
insight into Scripture in relation to the mission
of Jesus before the day of Pentecost.
b. Yet, once filled with the Spirit, Peter shows
amazing insight as he relates the days events to
passages from Joel and Psalms,Deuteronomy and
Genesis.
Revelation knowledge is the ability to understand the true meaning of Scripture as given by revelation of the Holy Spirit.
3. Inspired Speech
By this I simply mean when we speak the Holy Spirit
supplies the words.
There are several ways we see this in Acts:
• Witnessing/preaching—When Peter “addressed” the
crowd of mockers on the Day of Pentecost, the word
for “addressed” in 2:14 is the same word
translated “enabled” in 2:4 where it says that the
believers were “filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit
enabled them.”
• Speaking in tongues/prophecy/Spirit-inspired praise
- In Acts 2, the Spirit inspired them to speak in
tongues
- In Acts 10 they spoke in tongues and praised God
- In Acts 19 they spoke in tongues and prophesied
For too long, teaching on the baptism in the Holy Spirit has focused just on speaking in tongues.
Speaking in tongues served as the evidence of receiving the Spirit in at least three cases in Acts (2, 10, 19).
- People who do not speak in tongues are made to feel
like second-class Christians.
- Our desire should be the Spirit Himself and God’s
purposes in this world, not merely tongues as the
evidence of the Spirit.
If we think ourselves filled with God’s Spirit because we speak in tongues, yet neglect God’s call to evangelize the world, to stand for justice for the oppressed and for the righteousness of God’s Word, we deceive ourselves.
Truly Spirit-filled people must live their whole lives in the power of the Spirit.
Therefore, it is wrong to seek tongues as a spiritual merit badge.
But, if you seek tongues as a useful gift for private prayer and praise, than the “necessary evidence of Spirit-baptism” is not the only reason for seeking the gift.
IV. What happens when I speak in tongues?
• I speak, the Spirit supplies the words (Acts 2:4)
4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit
gave them utterance.
• I am edifying my spirit (1 Cor. 14:4) 4He who speaks
in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies
edifies the church. 5I wish you all spoke with
tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he
who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with
tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the
church may receive edification.
• I can praise and worship God from the depths of my
spirit (1 Cor. 14:14-17) 13Therefore let him who
speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14For
if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my
understanding is unfruitful. 15What is the
conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I
will also pray with the understanding. I will sing
with the spirit, and I will also sing with the
understanding. 16Otherwise, if you bless with the
spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the
uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks,
since he does not understand what you say? 17For you
indeed give thanks well, but the other is not
edified.
• I am praying Spirit-led prayers (1 Cor. 14:2).
Our quest to be empowered by the Spirit should not focus just on tongues.
But we must recognize that tongues is a useful tool to draw close to God and build ourselves up spiritually so we can win this world to Jesus.
V. Who is the baptism in the Holy Spirit for?
Acts 2:39, The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
As the church moves forwarded into this new millennium, surrounded by an increasingly wicked world, it is essential that we receive the anointing of the Spirit and power.
Pentecostal theologian, Dr. Wayde Goodall writes in his book, The Blessing:
“If your employer offered you a new tool to do your job with less physical effort but more excellence and precision, would you take advantage of that offer? If a friend told you of the availability of a new program that has a great ability to assist people in their efforts to be better husbands, wives, and parents, would you be interested in the program? How about an offer of some way to improve your Christian witness or multiply your efforts for God’s kingdom?
God has offered you a gift that will give you greater power than you could ever acquire naturally. Luke calls it ‘might power,’ and it will release the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.”
VI. How can I receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit?
The Scriptures do not give a formula, but the following considerations will be helpful.
Six Helpful Considerations
1. This experience is for all believers.
Joel’s prophesy, repeated by Peter on the Day of
Pentecost, stresses that the outpouring of God’s
Spirit is for all believers.
As we just saw above, this promise of Spirit
baptism for empowerment transcends time and race.
If you are seeking the baptism in the Holy Spirit,
you must be convinced that this experience is for
you.
2. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a Gift
Luke 11:11-13
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
God is not going to give you a fake. He can’t wait to give the Holy Spirit to His children.
Note: a gift is not given because you deserve it, have fasted long enough, waited long enough … The only requirement is faith.
See it as a gift that God, your loving heavenly father, wants to give you. Don’t make it more difficult than it is.
3. God’s Spirit already lives inside me.
If you are a Christian, this is a true fact.
The Holy Spirit indwells all believers.
Therefore, Spirit-baptism is an additional work of
the already indwelling Spirit.
4. I am open and receptive.
God does not baptize a person against their will.
Yieldedness to the Lord and a willingness to submit
to Him will facilitate one’s being baptized in the
Holy Spirit.
This is especially true of speaking in tongues.
You must cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
He does not come and possess your tongue.
Acts 2:4, “They spoke in tongues as the Spirit was
giving them utterance.”
They did not generate the tongues-speaking, they responded to the prompting of the Spirit.
5. God’s timing is not always ours.
a. Since the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift,
the timing of its giving is in the hands of the
giver.
b. The Lord responds to believing prayer when the
person is in accordance to His will.
c. It is evident in the Book of Acts and in
experience that the outpourings of the Spirit
sometimes occur at unexpected times.
Consequently, a person who wishes to be baptized
in the Spirit must not condemn himself or
herself if the experience does not take place
the way he or she thinks it should.
CONCLUSION:
I end with two questions of my own.
1. Have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit? If
not, look over those six considerations again, and
spend time praying about them.
2. If you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, what
are you doing with Him?
